Performance(s):
Friday, December 7, 2007: 8:00 p.m.
It's hard to believe that a scant seven years have passed since a 22-year-old Long Islander named Jane Monheit -- now renowned as one of the world's most beloved and accomplished song stylists -- signed her first recording contract, for Manhattan's relatively small but enthusiastically supportive N-Coded label.
Her debut album, Never Never Land, introduced the world to two indisputable facts. First, as the cover portrait demonstrated, Monheit is a stunning, raven-haired beauty. Second, as the ten standards that filled the impressive disc made immediately obvious, Monheit, with her crystalline voice and buttery phrasing, was (and remains) impossible to pigeonhole, simultaneously suggesting the smarts of a seasoned jazz artist and the cunning storytelling skills of the finest cabaret performers.
Since then, two of her recordings have received Grammy nominations, she has known the sweet satisfaction of
chart-topping success (several of her discs have debuted at number one), and found herself moving to Sony
for her two most recent albums, 2004's Taking a Chance on Love and the 2006 yuletide disc The Season.
Called "the real thing" by The New York Times and "jazz's next sultry sweetie" by People Magazine,
Monheit is one of jazz's hottest young stars. The Season is her fifth studio album of her already established and successful career.
Inspired by her favorite holiday album, Ella Fitzgerald's 1960 Ella Wishes You A Swinging Christmas, (Verve), Monheit creates inventive renditions of an eclectic repertoire of songs. The album spans eleven tracks that range from the Carpenters' "Merry Christmas Darling" and the 19th century carol "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" to perennial favorites likes "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and "Santa Claus is Coming To Town."
Her most recent release, Surrender, is her seventh album in as many years and marks an artistic 'coming home' of sorts, since the evocatively intimate title track was penned by
masterful composer, arranger and vocalist Peter Eldridge (of New York Voices and Four Brothers fame), Jane's first and only vocal coach, with whom she studied
at the Manhattan School of Music while still in her teens.
With Surrender she truly comes into her own, going beyond the "promising young vocalist" category to emerge at the top of her profession. This album
is a superb collection of bassas and ballads, many of which were developed by Jane and her band while on the road.
As Jane's recording history so clearly indicates, the beat of Brazil is never far from her musical heart. Indeed, her fascination with Brazilian rhythms, rhymes and composers dates all the way back to Never Never Land and its gently cheerful “Dindi” and continued apace through 2001's Come Dream with Me and In the Sun (which marked Jane's first recording in Portuguese, with a superbly satisfying reading of Ivan Lins' “Comear de Novo”). “It is an absolutely stunning language,” enthuses Jane. “I love Brazil and it's people. We've traveled there so much, and because of the incredible experiences we've had there, it has become very important to us to play this music with as much authenticity as possible, out of our tremendous respect for the composers. A lot of the songs don't have translations, or if they do they are bad ones; and I just love singing in Portuguese.”
But Surrender's strong Brazilian undercurrent extends even further. “I knew,” says Jane, “that I wanted this project to focus more on Brazilian music because that's where my life is and where my band is. It's not just me, but the entire band that has been moving in that direction. What's happening with the guys in the band is very, very important to me. Even though I'm considered a solo artist, being part of a band is of utmost importance to me, so we tend to move together in the same direction, and for years we've all being moving more and more toward Brazilian music. I thought it would be a nice idea to do an album of romantic bossa novas and then intersperse them with ballads, so that's what happened.”
Tickets on sale now. For more information about Jane Monheit, check out
her website at www.janemonheit.com. Or watch the video clip below.
Cost:
$30
Flex: $27
Seniors: $27
Buffalo State faculty/staff: $27
Student Rush: $15 (cash only), available one hour prior to show only with valid student ID.
SEE THREE OR MORE AND SAVE!
Buy any three or more Great Performers shows for
only $27 each.
